Many individuals are aware of the fact that psychic Edgar Cayce attributed the source of much of his remarkable information as being the Akashic Records. Referred to in scripture as “the Book of Life,” these Akashic Records essentially keep track of each and every soul and that soul’s learning agenda through all time. As unbelievable as this may seem to some, most individuals have heard of the phenomena called the Near Death Experience in which people undergo a partial death transition and experience a personal life review. In a very real sense what is taking place during this life review is that the individual is tapping into her or his own Akashic Records. Ultimately, these records might be equated to the universe’s central computer storehouse, tracking all information for every individual who has ever lived upon the earth. However, much more than simply a memory storehouse, the Akashic Records are interactive in that they have a tremendous influence upon our everyday lives, our relationships, our feelings and belief systems, and the potential realities we are constantly drawing toward us.

Although there is only one set of Akashic Records, it might be conceptually helpful to imagine that there are records that deal with the past, records that deal with the present and records that are responsible for future probabilities.

In terms of the past, the Akashic Records of the past really reside as memory. Actually, the Cayce readings suggest that karma is really only memory – a soul’s memory in relationship to something or someone. And it is important to keep in mind that my memory of a prior event may be very different than the memory of an individual who shared that event with me – just like a long-married couple recalling very different memories from a shared experience. It is for that reason the Cayce readings suggest that each and every one of us is dealing with our own karmic memory, not the memory of someone else. Very often, it is our personal karmic memory that makes us very different from other siblings and members of our own family. This memory resides just below the surface and is oftentimes at the heart of our likes, dislikes and the way in which we feel about every individual whom we encounter.

One simple story that illustrates how this memory can affect us was told by Edgar Cayce’s secretary, Gladys Davis, in the 1970s. Apparently, a woman who had had a life reading from Mr. Cayce more than thirty years before was in Gladys’s office and happened to see a photograph of another man that had also had a reading. She told Gladys that she knew that she had known that man and wanted to know his name. When Gladys told her the man’s name it meant nothing; still the woman was absolutely convinced beyond any doubt that she knew the man. Gladys described the man’s background and still it meant nothing. In order to help, Gladys recounted everything she could about the man but still nothing, and the woman remained just as convinced that she knew the man but didn’t know how.

Finally, Gladys had an idea. She checked the life readings for both individuals. The woman was told that she had been a member of Nicodemus’ family during the time of Jesus. The man had been told the very same thing. Somehow the woman had seen a picture of a man in his PRESENT incarnation and had somehow remembered a connection to him from the past when they had been related. The woman reported her experience, as follows: “Since then I have thought many times of how almost unbelievable it was that I, [3175], would have a remembrance of a man I knew in another lifetime, from a PHOTOGRAPH of that man as he is in this incarnation.” [Report 3175-3]

That’s karmic memory.

In terms of the Akashic Records of the present, each of us possesses many urges, patterns, and conflicting emotions that must be resolved in the soul’s educational process of discovering “who am I?” Whether or not these lessons are learned in the here and now becomes a matter of free choice, but if they are not learned they will simply be presented again and again in various ways until they are mastered.

An analogy of this very premise is comically portrayed in the movie “Groundhog Day.” According to legend, if the groundhog sees his shadow on February 2, there will be six more weeks of winter weather; if he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring. In the movie, Bill Murray plays an individual whose main purpose in life seems to be one of simply satisfying himself. One morning, Bill finds himself somehow stuck in time so that each day when he awakens it is once again “groundhog day.” He discovers that only he is having this experience and so, ultimately, he can do whatever he wants without ramifications.

For a long while, he continues to exercise his free will poorly and makes bad and selfish choices – about his health, his relationships, and his entire life. Living each day selfishly, however, eventually becomes boring and even depressing. He becomes depressed because he realizes that even if he makes a friend, that person will have no conscious awareness of it the next day when Bill Murray awakens to yet another Groundhog Day. As a result he commits suicide, and the next day he awakens to Groundhog Day. He tries killing himself again and again, only to awaken to Groundhog Day. Finally, he decides that since he has so much time on his hands, he might as well work on self-improvement.

He begins to work with being of service to others. He learns how to play a musical instrument. He learns another language. He goes out of his way to become the very best person he can be. Eventually, he lives a perfect day – meeting each individual and opportunity with the very best of his abilities – and when that is accomplished he goes to sleep and wakes up to find that it has finally become the day after Groundhog Day.

This is exactly how the Akashic Records of the present work. We draw to ourselves lessons in personal growth and development aimed at enabling the soul to achieve personal wholeness. We have the free will to decide we are not willing to learn the lesson at the present time but the lesson will be repeated until it is mastered.

The Akashic Records of the future embody an ever-changing array of possibilities and potentials. The future is not fixed; instead, the future changes and alters with every thought, every choice and every decision we make in the present. Essentially the future is an ever-evolving shadow of that which may be, totally dependent upon what one does in the present with what he or she has learned from the past. Because we are constantly receiving information from the Akashic Records, essentially “tapping into” the material connected to us personally, our changing futures are glimpsed in intuitive impressions, hunches, and our dreams. In fact, the Cayce readings state that nothing of significance ever happens to anyone without it first being foreshadowed in a dream.

Because of the nature of the Akashic Records and the fact that they are responsible for drawing to every soul exactly what that soul needs, the Akashic Records are constantly calculating probabilities – if the individual does this, this is the probable outcome; if someone makes this choice, this is where it is potentially headed. As we sleep, we often tune into the superconscious mind and our own potential futures.

For example, most individuals have had the experience of having a conversation with someone, or going somewhere, and all at once having the realization, “What a minute – I’ve already had this conversation…” Or, “I’ve already been here…” These experiences of déjà vu happen because most often an individual dreamed about the activity previously and while it is occurring there is a partial memory of having encountered it before. This kind of déjà vu is essentially fragmentary dream recall from tuning into your personal probable reality from the superconscious mind. Each of us has glimpses of our potential futures in many different ways.

Ultimately, the Akashic Records are responsible for assuring that each and every soul attains an awareness of its wholeness and oneness with God. When a soul lives an incarnation that is very much in keeping with that awareness, its parameters of free choice are broadened. If a soul really fails in terms of living up to that awareness in any given incarnation, it’s parameters of freedom of choice are lessened and the soul might find itself encumbered with all manner of personal restrictions. In other words, the universe will only let each soul get into so much trouble. However, our destiny as companions and co-creators of the Divine with an awareness of our oneness with that Creative Force is inevitable.

As one reading asked, “Can the will of man continue to defy its Maker?” (826-8)

is executive director and CEO of Edgar Cayce’s Association for Research & Enlightenment (A.R.E.) and Atlantic University (AU). He is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the Edgar Cayce organizations. As both student and teacher of the Cayce material for 35 years, he has lectured on five continents in front of thousands of individuals. A prolific writer, he is the author of more than 25 books, including the best-selling Edgar Cayce on the Akashic Records, Edgar Cayce on Auras and Colors (co-author), and his most recent book Contemporary Cayce, an overview of the Cayce material written in easy-to-understand language, which he co-authored with Henry Reed, PhD. In addition to his speaking engagements for A.R.E., he will be speaking September 7-9, 2018, at Omega on the topic of “Edgar Cayce and the Akashic Records.”